Why has there never been a shape morphing nipple shield before now?

The likely reasons a shape-morphing nipple shield hasn’t existed until now fall into a mix of historical, technical, and cultural factors:

🔧 1. Materials and manufacturing limitations

Shape-morphing requires variable material thickness, engineered perforations, or flexible architecture — techniques not widely used.
Most manufacturers opt for cost-efficiency over innovation in design.

📉 2. Low industry innovation in breastfeeding aids

Breastfeeding products have historically been underfunded and under-innovated compared to other medical devices — largely because:
Breastfeeding is considered 'natural' and therefore 1. mothers should cope without support and 2. the user base (mostly women) has been underserved in medical product design.
Companies often prioritise bottles and pumps (which have a clearer path to monetization) over niche support tools like nipple shields.

👩⚕️ 3. Clinician hesitancy and stigma

Nipple shields were once controversial in lactation circles. Many lactation consultants discouraged their use, fearing they interfered with milk supply but low breastfeeding rates (under 50% at 6 months) have challenged these thoughts because it is now clear these practices have not worked.
This stigma led to a lack of demand for redesign — they were seen as a “last resort” tool, not something worth innovating on.

🔬 4. One-size-fits-most assumptions

Traditional shield designs assume the breast/nipple is static and can adapt to the product — rather than the product adapting to the body.
This reflects a top-down medical design mindset that often ignores variation in real anatomy, especially postpartum.

🌱 Why ecobub is different:

ecobub is bringing a user-informed, mother-centric, and technically forward perspective.
ecobub’s perforated extrusion zone and flexible silicone challenge the industry norm by treating the shield as dynamic and responsive, not rigid.

🧠 Summary:

We believe there’s never been a shape-morphing nipple shield because most companies didn’t think they needed to innovate — and lacked the materials, will, or empathy to rethink it. ecobub (global company manufacturing nursing nipple shields) is filling that gap, responding to real needs with real design innovation.

This is not medical advice. For medical advice, please consult your health professional.